Houston Astros And LA Dodgers To Meet In The World Series

After an 0-2 start, the New Orleans Saints seemed bound for nowhere. Now they’re atop the NFC South.

The Saints (4-2) won their fourth consecutive game on Sunday, overcoming a slow start to defeat the Green Bay Packers (minus Aaron Rodgers) 26-17. Drew Brees threw his 500th career touchdown pass, a level reached previously by only Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Tom Brady.

In a rematch of Super Bowl LI, the New England Patriots (5-2) topped the slumping Atlanta Falcons 23-7 on a foggy evening in Foxborough, Mass. The Falcons (3-3) have lost their last three.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3) posted 10 sacks in a game for the second time this season in a 27-0 pounding of the Indianapolis Colts (2-5). And the Los Angeles Rams (5-2) laid a 33-0 beating on the Arizona Cardinals (3-4) in London; the Cardinals lost quarterback Carson Palmer to a broken left (non-throwing) arm.

The Miami Dolphins mounted their second stunning comeback in two weeks, this time behind backup quarterback Matt Moore. With Jay Cutler knocked out with what may be cracked ribs, Moore engineered a comeback from 14 points down and the Dolphins (4-2) nipped the New York Jets (3-4) by a 31-28 score on Cody Parkey’s 39-yard field goal with 22 seconds left.

BASEBALL: The Houston Astros eliminated the New York Yankees in seven games in the American League Championship Series and move on to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, which begins Tuesday night. The Astros took the final two games from the Yankees in Houston.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Alabama remains No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and Penn State stays at No. 2. Georgia is third, TCU is fourth and Wisconsin is fifth. Notre Dame broke into the top ten at No. 9 after thrashing USC and Michigan fell out of the Top 25 after losing badly to Penn State.

ELSEWHERE: Martin Truex Jr. won the NASCAR playoff race at Kansas Speedway as the field for the Monster Energy Cup was cut to eight. In: Truex, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. Out: Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jamie McMurray. … Justin Thomas won the CJ Cup with a birdie on the second playoff hole to beat Marc Leishman.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman